History San José awarded NEH preservation grant

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced on December 14th $21.8 million in grants for 295 humanities projects, including new grants to digitize historical materials held by individuals, give a second life to important out-of-print humanities books, and support public programs on pressing contemporary challenges. History San José’s Research Library & Archives was one of the successful applicants, receiving a Preservation Assistance Grant of $5,980 to preserve and enhance access to Santa Clara Valley’s Built Environment Archive at History San José.

The grant will fund purchase of preservation supplies and environmental monitoring equipment for HSJ’s collection of maps, architectural records, and ephemera. These include blueprints and designs by architects Peter Wuss & Ralph Wyckoff for some of San José’s historic buildings and schools, original designs for San José’s Victorian-era streetlamps, Frontier Village ephemera, and 19th and early 20th century maps of San José and Santa Clara County. HSJ’s overall collection documents the built environment through 50,000+ photographs; more than 5,000 linear feet of municipal records, architectural drawings, reports, business records, and oral histories; and 1,400 maps, dating back to the original founding of the San José Pueblo.

“NEH provides support for projects across America that preserve our heritage, promote scholarly discoveries, and make the best of America’s humanities ideas available to all Americans,” said NEH Chairman William D. Adams. “We are proud to announce this latest group of grantees who, through their projects and research, will bring valuable lessons of history and culture to Americans.”

NEH, an independent federal agency that funds high-quality projects in fields such as history, literature, philosophy, and archaeology, awards grants three times a year for top-rated proposals examined by panels of independent, external reviewers. This round of grants supports projects that will strengthen the nation’s cultural fabric and identity.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.